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Cover of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

folk tale

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"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" (Arabic: علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale in Arabic added to the One Thousand and One Nights in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard it from Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab. As one of the most popular Arabian Nights tales, it has been widely retold and performed in many media across the world, especially for children (for whom the more violent aspects of the story are often removed). In the original version, Ali Baba (Arabic: عَلِيّ بَابَا, romanized: ʿAliyy Bābā) is a poor woodcutter and an honest person who discovers the secret treasure of a thieves' den, and enters with the magic phrase "open sesame".

Adaptations (2)

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves has been adapted into 2 films, from 1971 to 1983.

  • Poster for Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
    Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
    1971 · film · 55 min · dir. Hiroshi Shidara · IMDb ↗
    IMDb5.7

    A peasant boy and 38 cats band against the tyrannical Ali Baba the 33rd and his cat-phobic genie.

    JP:StreamRent/Buy
  • Poster for Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
    Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
    1983 · film · 75 min · dir. Oleg Ryabokon · IMDb ↗
    IMDb7.4

    A cult Soviet musical based on Ali Baba story with spoken-word interludes stylized as Persian poetry.